Recently treated myself to a secondhand Olympus TG-5 in particular to explore its built in Microscope Mode with internal and external focus stacking options.

The public domain paper below by Jan Mertens et al is an interesting comparison of the TG-4 (same features) with the Canon 60mm and MP-E macro lenses. In particular to see if the TG-4 has value for cost and time effective museum entomology archive digitisation.

Recently treated myself to a secondhand Olympus TG-5 in particular to explore its built in Microscope Mode with internal and external focus stacking options.

The public domain paper below by Jan Mertens et al is an interesting comparison of the TG-4 (same features) with the Canon 60mm and MP-E macro lenses. In particular to see if the TG-4 has value for cost and time effective museum entomology archive digitisation.

"The use of low cost compact cameras with focus stacking functionality in entomological digitization projects."

Interesting that scientists are beginning to openly consider using "alternative" equipment. While professional lab equipment remains more versatile, research grants for equipment purchase at universities and museums are no longer what they used to be.

Incidentally, I too purchased a TG-4 recently, to carry with me "just in case" on outings next spring and summer after retiring and moving to a place rich in interesting locations for macro and micro work, as an alternative to much heavier macro equipment when I don't know exactly where I will go and whether I will find anything of interest.

The FD-1 flash diffuser is practically obligatory for macro work with the TG-4 built-in flash, by the way. Although expensive compared to its real production cost, it is far easier to use than any homemade equivalent solutions._________________--ES